070 AWARDS
070-001 Fellow of the Association Award
Purpose/Description
The Fellow of the Association Award recognizes extraordinary excellence in the discipline of business communication and its related areas of study. It is the most respected honor the Association can award. The award recipient will be recognized at the annual conference with a plaque and a monetary award. This award is sponsored by the Association.
Eligibility Criteria
A nominee has contributed in an outstanding manner in one of the following areas and has contributed in a substantial manner in at least two other areas:
- Teaching, Pedagogy, and Methodology
- Research
- Publications
- Association Leadership
- Professionalism:
- Graduate and undergraduate program development
- Cooperation with other societies or organizations
- Corporate or institutional training consultancies or program development
Nominations/Selection
Any member of the Association may nominate a candidate for the Fellow of the Association Award. The Nominating Committee evaluates nominees, selects the candidate, and submits the suggested recipient to the Board of Directors for approval.
Notification
The award winner will be notified at least 45 days before the annual conference.
070-002 Distinguished Member Award
Purpose/Description
The purpose of the Distinguished Member Award is to acknowledge long-term service to the Association for Business Communication and to the discipline. The award identifies excellence in areas important to the teaching of communication as well as to advancing communication as a discipline. The award recipient will be recognized at the annual conference with a plaque and a monetary award. This award is sponsored by the Association.
Eligibility Criteria
The candidate qualifies in six areas. The Nominating Committee finds evidence of superior accomplishment in three areas.
- Publications (one of which must be in the International Journal of Business Communication).
- Teaching innovations or awards.
- Leadership in academic or business organizations.
- Leadership and service to community.
- Leadership in the Association.
- Participation in professional associations, specifically attending Association regional and international meetings.
- Consulting and contributing to teaching and research.
- Training program development for business, industry, or government.
Nominations/Selection
Any member of the Association may nominate a candidate for the Distinguished Member Award. The Nominating Committee evaluates candidates, selects the candidate, and submits the suggested recipient to the Board of Directors for approval.
Notification
The award winner will be notified at least 45 days before the annual conference.
070-003 Award of Merit in Memory of Francis W. Weeks
Purpose/Description
The purpose of the Award of Merit in Memory of Francis W. Weeks is to acknowledge, foremost, contributions to the profession, and to recognize outstanding advancement in the discipline of business communication through a singular accomplishment or a series of accomplishments. The Board of Directors has authority to give honorary awards, as long as candidates meet the criteria of the award. The award recipient will be recognized at the annual conference with a plaque. This award is sponsored by the Association.
Eligibility Criteria
Candidates for this award should demonstrate the following criteria:
- Service and leadership in the profession.
- Meritorious single project or multiple projects: a) research (published and unpublished), b) publications (editing, supervising, and sponsoring), c) support organizations (e.g., student organizations, study groups, research funding).
- Professional development: a) directing symposiums, forums, workshops, or conferences; b) liaison with other societies.
- Contributions by members and/or nonmembers to the communication discipline in specialty areas such as governmental agencies, charitable organizations, etc.
- Contributions by members to the communication disciplines and programs in other nations:
- Other national society leadership.
- Sponsorship of ABC in other nations.
- Sponsorship of legislative petitions and bills.
- Other
Nominating/Selection
Any member of the Association may be nominated for the Award of Merit. The Nominating Committee evaluates nominations, selects the candidate and submits the suggested recipient to the Board of Directors for approval.
Notification
The award winner will be notified at least 45 days before the annual conference.
070-004 Outstanding Teacher-Scholar Award in Memory of Meada Gibbs
Purpose/Description
The purpose of the award is to recognize, encourage, and reward excellence to an ABC member whose teaching has made an outstanding contribution to the business communication discipline. The recipient of the award is a person who, in the judgment of the Teaching Committee, has made a significant contribution to business communication teaching methodology and concepts during the three years preceding the presentation of the award. The award recipient receives a plaque and $1500 USD cash contributed by a Board-approved sponsor(s). By existing agreement, the Association for Business Communication permits the sponsor(s) to publicize the name of the awardee in advertising. This award is sponsored by the Association and Pearson Learning.
Eligibility Criteria
The Teaching Committee considers the overall record of the recipient, with primary emphasis on the impact of the recipient’s teaching philosophy or methodology in business communication.
Selection criteria include but are not limited to the following areas:
- Conference presentations and publications (publications must include articles in Business and Professional Communication Quarterly and/or the International Journal of Business Communication).
- Current teaching or training experience in business communication courses and/or related courses.
- Evidence of positive student or participant evaluations.
- Evidence of positive administrative or peer evaluations.
Nominations/Selection
Any member of the Association who has not won the award in the past and who is not a current member of the Teaching Committee may nominate a candidate for the Outstanding Teacher-Scholar Award. The ABC Teaching Committee evaluates nominations and selects the recipient of the award.
Notification
The award winner will be notified at least 45 days before the annual conference.
070-005 Outstanding Researcher Award in Memory of Kitty O. Locker
Purpose/Description
The recipient is an ABC member whose research has made an outstanding contribution to the business communication discipline. The recipient receives a plaque and a check for $1500 USD from sponsor McGraw-Hill Irwin. By existing agreement, the Association permits the sponsor(s) to publicize the name of the awardee in advertising. The recipient will present her/his research at the ABC Annual Conference the year following receipt of the award.
Eligibility Criteria
Candidates for this award should demonstrate the following criteria:
- Overall contribution of the researcher’s cumulative publications in refereed journals and scholarly books.
- Significance of the research to the field.
- Overall quality of the research.
- Heuristic value of the research.
Nominations/Selection
Nominations should consist of a letter describing the scholar’s research and showing how the research meets the award criteria, and the nominees’ detailed curriculum vitae. The ABC Research Committee reviews nominations and selects the recipient of the award. Award recipients are defacto members of the ABC Research Committee for a three-year renewable term.
Notification
The award winner will be notified at least45 days before the annual conference.
070-006 Distinguished Publication on Business Communication
Purpose/Description
The Distinguished Publication on Business Communication award recognizes an outstanding article, essay, or book that has made a significant contribution to the discipline and was authored by a member of the Association.
The award recipient(s) receives a plaque, one-year full membership in the Association, and a monetary award of $500 USD cash contributed by Board-approved sponsor(s). By existing agreement, the Association for Business Communication permits the sponsor(s) to publicize the name(s) of the awardee(s) in advertising. This award is sponsored by the Association.
Eligibility Criteria
The Award for Distinguished Publication on Business Communication is awarded to the author(s) of an article, essay, or book which meets the following criteria:
- At least one of the author(s) must be an ABC member. If no author of the nominated work is a member of ABC, then the author(s) will be given the opportunity to join ABC as part of the nomination process. The nomination will be considered incomplete until at least one author is a member of ABC.
- Contributes significantly to scholarship, research, and/or pedagogy. Textbooks are not candidates for this award.
- Demonstrates originality of thought and careful investigation.
- Is extremely well written, lucid, and engaging.
- Has been published in the calendar year preceding the annual conference at which the award will be presented.
Authors are not eligible to receive this award two years in a row.
Nominations/Selection
Nominations may be made by any ABC member. The ABC Publications Board selects the recipient of the award.
Notification
The award winner will be notified at least 45 days before the annual conference.
070-007 Spirit of ABC Award in Memory of Bernadine P. Branchaw
Purpose/Description
The purpose of the Spirit of ABC Award is to acknowledge extraordinary contributions to the friendliness of ABC.
The award recipient will be recognized at the annual conference with a plaque. This award is sponsored by the Association.
Eligibility Criteria
The award recognizes, on an extraordinary basis, exceptional members of ABC who exemplify friendliness and openness to both newcomers and current members. This member’s spirit of friendliness shows a genuine appreciation to all individuals who attend ABC activities.
Selection
When special circumstances warrant granting the Award, the Nominating Committee proposes candidates to the Board of Directors, which approves the award.
Notification
The award winner will be notified at least 45 days before the annual conference.
070-008 Outstanding Article Award
Purpose/Description
The Outstanding Article Award recognizes articles published in the International Journal of Business Communication and the Business and Professional Communication Quarterly. The award recipients receive a plaque, a one-year full membership in the Association, and a monetary award of $ 500 USD contributed by Board-approved sponsor(s). By existing agreement, the Association for Business Communication permits the sponsors to publicize the names of the awardees in advertising.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible articles must meet the following criteria:
- At least one of the author(s) must be an ABC member. If no author of the nominated work is a member of ABC, then the author(s) will be given the opportunity to join ABC as part of the nomination process. The nomination will be considered incomplete until at least one author is a member of ABC.
- Contributes significantly to scholarship, research, and/or pedagogy.
- Demonstrates originality of thought and careful investigation.
- Is well written, lucid, and engaging.
- Is published in the calendar year preceding the annual conference at which the award is presented.
Authors are not eligible to receive this award two years in a row.
Nominations/Selection
The ABC Publications Board selects the recipient of the awards.
Notification
The award winner will be notified at least 45 days before the annual conference.
070-009 Student Competition Award
Purpose/Description
The Student Competition Award recognizes outstanding undergraduate student submissions to the annual ABC Student Competition. Winner of the award receives $300 USD contributed by the contest sponsor(s). Awards are also given for second and third place. By existing agreement, the Association for Business Communication permits the sponsors to publicize the names of the awardees in advertising.
Eligibility Criteria
Students must be enrolled in a business communication or other appropriate course at the time of entry, and the faculty member of the course must sponsor the entry.
The winning entries will:
- Exhibit a clear understanding of the audience, use an appropriate tone and style, and establish the desired relationship.
- Accomplish the purpose of the message by stating a clear position on the issue and supporting that position with logical points/sub-points, insightful reasons, and/or persuasive examples.
- Be well-organized and easy to follow, with smooth transitions and headings/bullets/numbered items (if appropriate).
- Demonstrate superior mastery of vocabulary and superior facility with conventions (i.e., grammar, usage, and mechanics) of standard written English.
- Use an appropriate format and professional document design.
Nominations/Selection
Submissions may be made by students of any Association member. The ABC Student Competition Committee selects the award recipient(s).
Notification
The award winner will be notified at least 45 days before the annual conference.
070-010 Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award
Purpose/Description
The ABC Award for Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation on Business Communication is awarded annually to the outstanding dissertation or thesis in the area of business communication written as part of a doctoral program.
The winning researcher will receive a plaque and a monetary award at the ABC annual conference each year. In addition, the award winner will be encouraged to submit an article based on the dissertation to one of the Association’s journals – the International Journal of Business Communication or the Business and Professional Communication Quarterly. The winner will also receive a one-year membership in ABC.
Eligibility Criteria
The following criteria must be met for eligibility for the Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award:
- Contributes significantly to scholarship, research, and/or pedagogy of business communication.
- Demonstrates originality of thought and careful investigation.
- Uses an accepted research technique for business communication research.
- Is successfully defended within the two years preceding the annual conference at which the award is presented.
Nominations/Selection
Entries may be nominated by the researcher or by a nominator. Nomination letters must be received by the chair of the ABC Research Committee by June 15. Nominations must include:
- A letter of nomination from a faculty member on the doctoral dissertation committee or from the degree granting institution showing how the publication meets the award criteria.
- An electronic copy of a synopsis of the doctoral dissertation (no more than 20 pages in length).
Finalists for the award will be asked to submit one complete copy of the dissertation.
Notification
The award winner will be notified at least 45 days before the annual conference.
070-011 ABC Rising Star Award
Purpose/Description
The Rising Star Award recognizes the meaningful contributions to the mission and membership of the Association and to the field at large through excellent teaching, research, and/or practical applications (e.g., consulting, training). This award is intended for members who have been active in the Association for no more than 10 years and who are currently in good standing.
The award recipient will be recognized at the annual conference with a plaque and a monetary award. This award is sponsored by Sage Publishing.
Eligibility Criteria
The criteria for ABC members eligible for the ABC Rising Star Award follow:
- Active membership in ABC for no more than 10 years.
- Evidence of significant contributions to the mission of ABC through service to the Association.
- Evidence of excellence in teaching, research, and/or public practice.
- Evidence of commitment to growing with the Association in the future.
Nominations/Selection
Nominations are solicited annually by the Nominating Committee. To be considered for this award, the following documents should be submitted in one or two PDF files to the chair of the Nominating Committee, who will forward them to the Nominating Committee members:
- Letter of nomination from senior ABC member an ABC member who has been active in the Association for a minimum of 10 years.
- Curriculum vita.
- Short narrative and portfolio highlighting evidence that the eligibility criteria have been met, including a two-three page narrative argument for why the candidate deserves the award and no more than eight supporting documents, such as syllabi, teaching evaluation summaries, bibliography of publications, etc.
For prior candidates who are being re-nominated, a new letter of nomination is required.
The members of the Nominating Committee will review each application and choose a winner based on the Eligibility Criteria. The recipient will be announced at the annual conference.
Notification
The award winner will be notified at least 45 days before the annual conference.
070-012 ABC Representative Travel Award
Purpose/Description
The ABC Representative Travel Award is intended to help newer ABC members build their careers while also promoting ABC at non-ABC conferences. It provides an opportunity for our ABC Representatives to participate in conferences they might not otherwise attend.
Eligibility Criteria
The criteria for ABC members eligible for the ABC Representative Travel Award include:
- Membership in ABC for approximately five to eight years.
- Evidence of contributions to ABC through committee work or other service.
- Evidence that the person is considered an "up and coming" researcher or instructor.
- Relevance of the conference to ABC’s goals, although a conference that the nominee does not usually attend (e.g., due to funding limitations).
- Publications in an area of research relevant to the conference to be attended.
- Description of the ways in which the person would represent or promote ABC; this must include participation in the conference program.
Nominations/Selection
The award winner is chosen by the Executive Committee based on members' self-nominations or nominations from any Board member or committee chair. The approval of the conference is at the discretion of the Executive Committee, subject to ABC's needs and potential benefits to ABC, and the award recipient's demonstrated research interests.
Notification
The award winner will be notified at least 45 days before the annual conference.
070-013 Innovation in Teaching with Technology
Purpose/Description
The winner will receive a check for $1500 USD. In return, the recipient will present her/his innovative ideas at the following year’s conference.
Eligibility Criteria
Candidates for this award must meet the following criteria:
- Teach business communication at the community college or college level.
- Demonstrate successful integration of new technologies in the business communication classroom (e.g., increases student engagement with technology, uses of social media, ways to improve student learning using the flipped classroom strategies, and similar topics.).
- Demonstrate teaching excellence, using student evaluations, peer observations, and a support letter from department chair/other administrators as evidence.
Nominations/Selection
Nominations may be made by any member of the Association, including officers and executives. The award recipient is selected by the Teaching Committee.
Notification
The award winner will be notified at least 45 days before the annual conference.
070-014 USC Marshall School of Business, Business Communication Impact Award
Purpose/Description
The Marshall School of Business sponsors the award with a cash prize and reimbursement to attend an ABC conference. The award is part of Marshall's new Business Communication Thought Leadership Initiative (TLI). The award itself is modeled after a similar award in Marshall's entrepreneurship program that recognizes the top entrepreneurship article.
The goals behind the award are to:
(a) draw positive attention to the business communication field
(b) strengthen the journals that support the business communication field
(c) provide resources and rationales for business communication scholars to build their reputations and successfully gain advancements and promotions at their institution
(d) honor those scholars who write business communication articles with the most impact.
As part of Marshall's Business Communication TLI, Marshall will provide resource information for business communication scholars including citation counts for top business communication articles.
Selection Procedures
The winner will be calculated by citations over the past five years using both Google Scholar data and ISI information. Research articles from the following journals are eligible: International Journal of Business Communication, Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, Journal of Business and Technical Communication, and Management Communication Quarterly.
Notification
The award winner will be notified at least 45 days before the annual conference.
070-015 Distinction in the Practice of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award
Purpose/Description
The Award for Distinction in the Practice of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion celebrates and recognizes practices that foster community outreach and diversity/equity/inclusion. It honors work outside the classroom, engaging a community that would be deemed non-dominant. This is work that creates partnerships to effect positive social change, whether the change be on an individualized level or on a broader, system-wide, policy level--or a synergistic blend. The chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee presents the Distinction in the Practice of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award during the annual conference.
Eligibility Criteria
The achievements that this award will honor should involve service learning, community service, engaged learning, or some other type of activity that promotes social awareness and the spirit of inclusion and equity. There are many possible constituencies who could be involved in these types of contributions: students in a class or directed study, students in clubs or participating in co-curricular activities, university faculty and administrators involved in curriculum change, consultants who broaden clients' perspectives, or employees coming together to benefit others outside the typical constraints of their jobs.
The work or project should demonstrate the core values of partnership. The participants should learn about and benefit one another. There should be a continual analysis, evaluation, and feedback loop during the partnership, which can be a fixed or ongoing collaboration.
The award purposely takes a broad interpretation of "diversity, equity and inclusion" and service. The committee is open to a wide variety of activities that match the award criteria. The committee will also be happy to give applicants guidance and feedback as they prepare their proposals.
Nominations/Selection
The award is open to any ABC member. People can be nominated or self-nominate. To be considered for this award, submit a short (no more than 1,000 words) description of the project that includes the non-dominant community served, the type of partnership created, any of the many possible types of applied learning involved, the change effected, some of the issues learned, and any plans for moving forward. The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee will evaluate nominations to determine the recipient of the Distinction in the Practice of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award.
Notification
The award winner will be notified at least 45 days before the annual conference.
070-016 Honorary Member Award
Purpose
The Honorary Member Award is awarded from time to time to honor a business practitioner who has demonstrated extraordinary dedication to excellence in business communication. The recipient will be honored at the Association’s annual conference and be given a one-year membership to ABC.
Criteria
The criteria include:
- High professional achievement.
- Evidence of superior skill in business communication.
- Willingness to share his/her expertise with the Association.
- Support of the Association’s mission and proven advancement of communication skill in the workplace.
Selection
Anyone may nominate an individual for this award in response to the Nominating Committee’s call for award nominations. The Nominating Committee will evaluate such nominations and, if appropriate, submit a nominee to the Board of Directors for their approval.
Notification
The award winner will be notified at least 45 days before the annual conference.
070-017 Award for Excellence in Communication Consulting
Purpose/Description
The Award for Excellence in Communication Consulting honors the impact of effective professional communication consulting on the corporate, government, and nonprofit worlds. The award also acknowledges the contribution of communication consultants to the ABC community. The award is sponsored by ABC and by the Association for Professional Communication Consultants (APCC). The winner will receive a check for $1,500 USD and a free registration to the next year’s ABC international conference. The recipient will present the award-winning project at that conference.
Eligibility Criteria
The winner must be a member of ABC and must either be a full-time consultant or show evidence of significant part-time consulting. Student projects completed for coursework or as a degree requirement are not eligible. Projects completed as “work for hire” must produce permission from the owner to be submitted.
Members may nominate projects in one of three categories:
- Excellence in Writing, for either (1) outstanding writing or revision of a professional document for a client or (2) outstanding writing of a published, communication-related book that is intended for a public audience. Books primarily intended as academic textbooks are not eligible for this award.
- Excellence in Training, for designing and conducting a specific, outstanding communication training program in the workplace.
- Excellence in Digital Media, for a superior electronic communication project characterized by outstanding writing, appealing graphics and/or video, and ease of use. Projects may include a web site, social media project, or online campaign (to build awareness, promote a product, manage a crisis, etc.).
Members of the Evaluation Committee and past award winners are not eligible to receive the award.
Nominations/Selection
Nominations are solicited annually by the ABC Consulting SIG and are judged by an evaluation committee consisting of previous members of the APCC Board of Directors and previous award winners, who are ABC members. The members of the Evaluation Committee will review each application based on criteria published with the call for nominations and choose a winner based on those criteria. The recipient will be announced at the annual conference.
Notification
When the winner is selected, the chair of the Committee will share the information with ABC’s Executive Director and will notify the winner at least 45 days before the ABC annual conference. The winner will be recognized at the conference.
070-018 Margaret (Marty) Baker Graham Research Grant Award
Purpose/Description
During her career in higher education, Dr. Marty Graham (Iowa State University) worked diligently to support the advancement of graduate students, particularly female, non-traditional students. Because of her dedication to these students and her understanding of the economic difficulties all graduate students face, her family and friends have endowed the Margaret (Marty) Baker Graham Research Grant. This award will assist doctoral students engaged in research within the discipline of business communication. The winner will receive a check for $500.
Eligibility Criteria
Any student engaged in collecting data and writing a dissertation in the business communication discipline will be eligible for this award. Preference will be given to those individuals who demonstrate a need for financial support during the late stages of their doctoral programs.
Applicants must be enrolled in a doctoral program pursuing a degree within a business communication related discipline.
To be considered for this award, the following documents should be submitted to the Graduate Studies Committee chair and the ABC Executive Director:
- Letter of application indicating need for research funds
- Current vita
- Description of research project indicating progress achieved toward completion (limit to two pages, single-spaced)
- Photograph
- Names and emails of dean, department chair, and another press release contact.
Nominations/Selection
The committee encourages self nominations, nominations by supervising professors, and/or members of the Association for Business Communication. The Graduate Studies Committee of the Association for Business Communication will review and rank applications. Their recommendation will then be submitted to the Board of the Business Communication Research Foundation for approval and authorization of funds disbursement.
Notification
The grant winner will be notified at least 45 days before the annual conference.